Pokemon : Another Journey
by AuthorJ
Summary: A young man and his Vulpix set off from their home in the Kanto region for a new adventure in Sinnoh, but an encounter with a Kirlia and its pursuers may change this from being just another regional tour.
1. Setting Off : A Rough Start

**Another Journey Chapter 1**

**Setting Off: A Rough Start**

I do not own Pokemon, its world, or any of its creatures, but all original characters belong to their respective creators, along with a few of them and this story being my own, obviously.

* * *

Late night in Cerulean City was always a breathtaking vision to behold. A perfect mixture of nature and artificial lights created an atmosphere most calming to those who would stop to take the time and appreciate its splendor. Stars shone brilliantly in the sky, only the faintest of them being drowned out by the electric lights of houses and street lamps. The sounds of the hectic daily life were silenced, replaced by those of soft breezes and insects emerging to once again take the night for their own. Perhaps the most common disturbance was the sound of Rattata occasionally tipping over a garbage can in search of its food, ushering a chase of human and Pokemon as the owner of the emptied bin chased away the wild creature before cleaning up the mess it had created. Even this was just a mild break from the mood, as the serenity of the evening was quickly resumed.

"Awesome, ain't it?", Toru Mitsukai asked with a smile, reclining back upon his rooftop, staring at the point in the horizon where the manmade and natural lights began to blend together with one another in a silent symphony of luminescence. He brushed a few stray strands of hair out of his eyes, tucking them behind his left ear as the rest reached down towards his mid-back. His was clothed with a black t-shirt embroidered with a white cross with red trim around it stretched from the collar to the base lengthwise, connecting with another of an identical make upon his back below his arms as the tops of both crosses extended down to the ends of the shirts arms from the sides of the collar. From the waist down he wore blue jeans with a thin chain hanging at his left hip, connecting into his pocket and vanishing within. Black scuffed and scratched leather boots tapped gently and calmly upon the tarpaper on the roof as he stared through hazel eyes at the sky with a smile. "Take it in, Flare, 'cause tomorrow we're sleeping under a different patch of 'em."

A gentle mewl came from a female Vulpix that lay curled up at his side, peeking out one eye to the young man briefly before closing it again with something that sounded like a sigh.

"Jeez..." he said with a soft chuckle, reaching to his side and stroking his hand along the back of the small creature by his side. "This is gonna be our last night in Kanto for a while, and instead of enjoying it, you're opting for sleep?"

Flare opened her eyes, casting a particularly unenthused expression to the young man before lifting her head and breathing out a few small embers of flame that floated over his torso before extinguishing in the subtle evening breeze.

"Fine, fine, I get it." he said with a smirk. His arms moved to his sides and his hands pressed down on the rooftop, lifting his upper body into an upright position before he took one arm and gently scooped up the six-tailed creature. "Let's go to bed then. We've got a big day ahead of us tomorrow anyways." Silently, the young man rose to his feet, trekking gently across the roof to a ladder bolted down at its edge, leading to a balcony just below. Upon setting foot on the balcony, he entered a room through a sliding glass door, his room, and shut the door behind him with the utmost silence, confident in the belief that he had gotten in without notice.

At least that was before a light flickered on over his head, and a ceiling fan began to spin, disturbing a few individual papers upon a nearby desk where they laid in peace. He turned his head sharply, his eyes falling upon an older man and woman, his parents, and put on a nervous grin. "Ah, evenin' you guys..."

His mother, Kali, a woman in her late 30's with jet black waist-length hair and hazel eyes, stood in the doorway with a smile, and her finger hovering over the light switch. "'Evenin'' yourself, Toru. It's 12:30, shouldn't you be getting to sleep for the start of your trip tomorrow?"

"Mom, I'm 17." Toru responded as he walked to a small basket at the foot of his bed with a rather plush pillow fastened to the bottom. "Don't you guys think I'm a little old for a bedtime?" he questioned as he laid Flare into the little bed, watching the Vulpix curl up once more with a yawn before drifting off to sleep.

"You were the moment you first set foot out the door on your first journey around Kanto seven years ago." Jacob, his father, responded, a man also in his late 30's, standing a head taller than his mother with short brown hair and blue eyes. "But now it simply comes down to responsibility on your own part. You know the first day out on a journey is often the most taxing."

"Yeah, Dad, I know." Toru said with a chuckle as he sat down at the foot of his bed, leaning forward onto his knees with a grin. "At the same time, might I ask what you two are doing up? Unless you practice what you preach, you really aren't setting a good example, you know."

"Just because we couldn't hear you walking across the roof doesn't mean we can't hear you talking." His mother responded, walking over to the bed and sitting beside him with a warm smile. "It's good that you have that kind of connection with your Pokemon though. Communication is key when it gets down to it all. In battles, in Pokemon Contests, in relationships, you've got to be able to understand one another."

"Yeah." Toru responded with a smile. "She'n I have seen Kanto, Johto and Hoenn together in the past few years, along with the others we've brought and caught along the way. I've never been a champion or anything like that, but I never would've made it as far as I did without them."

"It's good that you recognize that." Jacob said, leaning on the door frame. "Many trainers simply believe that it's just as simple as barking orders and letting the Pokemon do all the work."

"Well, I ain't one of them." The young man responded proudly, pointing his right thumb at his chest with a chuckle, pausing for a moment before a more curious expression came over his face. "Still though... I am curious, you guys didn't have this chat with me before I went off to Hoenn four years ago, or even when I went off to Johto two years before that. Something on your minds?"

His parents immediately exchanged glances, Kali sporting an unsure expression as she looked to her spouse, a look he responded to with a soft nod before both looked to their son.

"Truth to be told," Jacob started calmly, "we're a little bit concerned. In the past ten years, there've been those four Pokemon syndicates that sprang up, Team Rocket, Team Magma, Team Aqua and just last year, Team Galactic. They've each made names for themselves with their extremist actions, often times at the expense of trainers like yourself..."

"We're just worried that you'll be one of those trainers, Toru." Kali continued on, placing a gentle hand on her son's shoulder. "You're our son, and we know you're a capable trainer, but the thought of one of those lunatics robbing you, hurting you or worse... we don't want something to happen to you..."

"Ah, you don't gotta worry about those creeps." Toru responded confidently. "The Rockets, Magmas and Aquas all disbanded, and no one's seen Team Galactic since that girl Pearl thrashed them last year at the Spear Pillar. Not to mention that I've gotten to be a pretty good trainer myself. The worst I've got to worry about are just common thugs, and I've handled a few of them before."

"Toru..." his Mother began, still wearing a very unsure expression upon her face.

"I promise, Mom." he said reassuringly, still wearing the same confident expression. "Nothing's going to happen to me. Flare and I'll come home from Sinnoh in one piece; you haven't got anything to worry about."

There was a silence in the room for a moment after these words were spoken, looks exchanged between parent and child speaking only what was necessary before the silence was broken by just a single word.

"Alright...", Kali said, standing up off the bed and walking to the door, stopping beside her husband with as her arms folded over her chest. "You're going to be 18 in a couple of months anyways, you're certainly old enough to make your own decisions."

"And bedtime." Toru said smugly, drawing a soft chuckle out of his mother.

"Of course, that doesn't mean she's going to stop pestering you about this whenever you call." Jacob remarked with a chuckle, earning a playful elbow to the ribs from the smaller woman.

"I love you, honey, now shut up.", she said with a grin and a mock sense of irritation. She turned a much warmer smile to their son, nodding softly. "Well, you'd better take care of whatever it is you have left to do before you set out tomorrow. We'll see you in the morning." With that, the two left, shutting the door gently behind them so as not to disturb the sleeping Fox Pokemon at the foot of their son's bed.

Not a moment after they left, Toru rose to his feet, walking to the desk beside it and stopping behind the steel chair pushed underneath it, his eyes falling onto a package sitting beside his computer. He reached for a drawer, sliding it open and fishing around blindly for a moment before his fingers traced the contour of a familiar object. He grasped it, drawing out his pocket knife and flipping the blade open. He slipped it beneath one of the cardboard flaps and cut directly through the brown packaging tape sealing it shut on one side. He repeated this motion on the other side before slicing through the tape on the top, setting down his tool beside the box and pulling the top of the box open, staring at the contents inside before he pulled them out.

The object inside was a new Pokedex, the model that had been released the previous year to accommodate the data of Pokemon in the Sinnoh region. It was a wide, mostly rectangular model with a half-circle extending out the left side, colored red as the standard issue Pokedex was for male trainers. He immediately tore the plastic wrapping off of it and discarded it in the garbage bin beside his desk, flipping it open and taking in its layout. There were two screens, one down on the bottom half beside a directional pad used to scroll through entries, and one at the top by the speakers where the audio played. He flipped it to glance at the back, spotting a button on the bottom half of it, and on sight, immediately pressing it.

Upon looking back at the front, he observed both screens coming to life with a hum. An opening screen lit up with a button for an optional tutorial about the Pokedex for newer trainers who were unfamiliar with the technology, and a button below that to skip it. A click then emanated from the top left side, followed by the sight of a thin, black object popping out. The trainer pulled it out, revealing it to be a stylus.

'_I see...',_ he thought as he smiled to himself, immediately pushing the pen-like end to the button on the bottom screen labeled 'No Thanks' to skip it. It transitioned to the next screen after that, pulling up a digital keyboard on the bottom screen as a blank line appeared on, with text below it reading 'Please enter your 5-digit Trainer ID Number'. With a few quick taps on the touch screen after that, he confirmed his ID number, watching as a progress bar appeared on screen. He stared, watching a red line fill the blank bar from left to right for a couple moments before the screen changed again, bringing up his trainer profile, something that brought a grin to his face. _'Sweet, wireless. The Hoenn Dex couldn't pull that off.'_ As the screen then shifted to the default menu, he inserted the stylus back into the cavity it had appeared from with a 'click', shutting the Pokedex and setting it on his desk.

The young man turned his gaze over to his side, gazing out the sliding glass door and at the night sky once again, staring at it for a moment before walking over and grasping his blinds. "Good night, Cerulean City, see you in the morning." He muttered, pulling the blinds shut to finish the few remaining preparations he had to make for the next day.

* * *

"Are you sure you've got everything, Toru?", Kali asked as she held his sister Irene, a three-year-old girl with shoulder-length blonde hair and blue eyes currently reaching out for the black backpack her oldest sibling was sporting before the mother gently pulled her arm back. "Jacket, sleeping bag, everything?"

"Yeah, Mom, don't sweat it.", the young man responded as he finished pulling his hair back into a ponytail at the bottom of his head, glancing at a few shorter strands of hair that fell out over his left eye just above his eyebrow with a slight frown before turning to gaze at his mother. "I've got everything, as usual, so there's nothing to-", he paused, feeling a nudge at his leg. He glanced down, spotting Flare standing with the Pokedex just activated the night before in her mouth, and an expression that he was quite familiar from her, her 'Way to go, genius' look. "Ah... maybe I forgot one thing..."

"Like always, big brother." Another voice spoke, the voice belonging to Toru's 12-year-old brother Isaac, sporting short, scraggily black hair, blue eyes, and wearing something of a cocky smile upon his face. "I'm surprised you still know how to get home with as forgetful as you can be sometiiiAAAAHHH! CUT IT OUT!" he hollered as Toru immediately wrapped one arm around his neck and began grinding his fist against his skull with an irritated smile, causing the younger boy to squirm in a futile attempt at escape, a display that drew a giggle out of the toddler in their mother's arms.

"I wouldn't have to do this if you didn't fire off at the mouth all the time you little twerp! Show some more respect for your older brother!"

"Toru, Isaac, both of you cut it out." a calm, yet commanding voice said, belonging to their father, who looked to be wearing something of a smile. "You're not going to see each other for a while, so try and get along for the last few minutes before Toru leaves, alright?"

"Yes sir." Isaac responded, shutting one eye as he rubbed his head where Toru had ground his fist into his scalp. He glanced to Flare, thumbing towards the Pokedex still in her mouth before looking to his brother. "That the new model?"

"Yeah, I just activated it last night." The older boy replied, kneeling down and grasping it with a smile as he gave the Fox Pokemon an affectionate rub between the ears.

"Why not show us how it works?" Kali suggested, shifting her hold upon the little girl in her arms.

Toru blinked, glancing around at his family before shrugging and standing up. "Alright, Flare, stand still." He said with a smile as he flipped it open. It only took about a second for the screen to light up at the default menu, and just another before it transitioned to an image of a Vulpix on the top screen, with a listing of moves and her status on the bottom.

"Vulpix, the Fox Pokemon." A female voice announced from the Pokedex. "It controls balls of fire. As it grows, its six tails split from their tips to make more tails."

"That says about as much as the Hoenn Dex did about it..." Toru muttered, sighing and shutting the Pokedex before slipping it into his pocket.

"Well, I'm sure they just haven't updated their studies in a long while." Jacob said with a reassuring smile. "Alongside linking up the regions so they can share data, and upgrading the technology to store it all like they do, they're bound to have been busy."

"Yeah, good point." Toru responded, smiling and turning to his parents. "In any case, I'm off. My ship leaves from Vermillion later on this evening, so I've gotta make sure Azura can carry us there in a comfortable amount of time."

"She's a Pidgeot, Toru." Isaac responded in a questioning tone. "Top speed'd get you there in a little over two hours. What's the rush if it's in the evening?"

"No reason in particular, just wanna hang out by the docks for a little while." He said with a grin, reaching over and ruffling his little brother's hair. "Don't pester Mom and Dad too much while I'm gone, alright?"

"Yeah, yeah..." the pre-teen replied dismissively, grinning up at his brother. "Don't get your butt kicked too much."

"Not looking to, little bro." He responded confidently, turning to his mother and giving her a hug and a kiss on the cheek, being mindful of Irene in her arms. "I'll keep in touch Mom."

"Don't get yourself in to trouble." She said, returning the hug and kiss before stepping back, wearing a soft smile.

"Bye-bye Toru." Irene murmured as she gave a wave.

Toru chuckled, placing a hand on his baby sister's head and leaning forward, giving her a quick kiss on the forehead before grinning. "Be good for Mom and Dad. I'll bring you something cool back from Sinnoh, 'kay?"

"'Kay." The little girl responded simply, wearing a gentle smile.

Toru stood upright, turning to face his father and nodding softly, reaching extending his hand out simultaneously with him and grasping it, giving a firm shake.

"Do your best son. Then you can always come home with your head held high."

"Yes sir." Toru replied as he pulled his hand back. He gave a quick tug to his backpack straps, adjusting them as he glanced down to Flare. "Let's rock Flare." Toru then gave one final nod to his family before turning and heading out the door, taking the first steps towards Sinnoh with Flare following at his heels.

* * *

Toru sighed as he stood in the middle of one of the empty side streets a few blocks from his home. On his Mother's request, he had stopped having Azura take flight out in front of their house, her major complaint being that it often knocked over what potted plants she kept outside or kicked up dust all over the place. He spun the Poke Ball on his index finger, glancing up at the sky, dotted with individual clouds that occasionally passed over and dimmed the Sun's light. "Good flying weather. Great day to start a journey."

"Bubble Beam!" hollered a female voice from behind, familiar to Toru's ears.

It took him a second for it to register a face with the voice before he frowned slightly. _'Crud...'_ "Flare, Ember at 6 O'clock."

The Fox Pokemon spun about swiftly, opened her mouth and fired off a barrage of Ember shots, meeting with a flurry of bubbles that was coming at them not 5 feet from where they were standing. Although it gained some ground upon them, each and every bubble was ultimately cancelled out by the small shots of fire. Flare then sat down, glancing over her shoulder to Toru, who turned with a rather tired smile upon his face.

"Ah, hiya Misty." He said pleasantly at the sight of the girl, 5 years his senior, walking towards him with her Starmie floating beside her, and wearing a rather flustered expression. He'd known the Gym Leader since he was just 9-years-old, and he was happy to say that he was good friends with her. "What's up?"

"Isaac told me the other day you were planning on leaving late this morning." She said, wearing a mildly irked grin as she crossed her arms. "You didn't say a thing when you left for Hoenn last time, so I thought I'd get the chance to give you a proper send-off."

"By blasting me with a Bubble Beam from behind? Gee, thanks Misty, that really says a lot about how much you're gonna miss me." Despite the words, there was a clearly playful tone that earned him a pat on the shoulder from the older girl, who was now smiling quite warmly towards him.

"I actually have something for Suichi. Is he with you?"

"Of course." Toru responded with a smile, reaching for his belt line and pulling one of his Poke balls out from beneath his shirt. With the first press of the button on the red-and-white sphere, it enlarged, filling his palm. "Come on out, Misty's got something for ya." He informed the Pokemon inside, pointing the ball to the side and giving it a light toss with the flick of his wrist.

It popped open in mid-air, firing off a white flash of light towards the ground that immediately took the shape of the creature released before fading, leaving a Vaporeon sitting on its hind quarters, brushing its mermaid-like tail back and forth slowly over the pavement and giving a soft yip to announce its presence from the Poke Ball. It glanced to Misty, tilting its head to the side curiously.

The Cerulean Gym Leader giggled a little bit at the curious look on the Pokemon's face. "It's right here." She said as she dipped her hand into one of the pockets of the board shorts she was wearing, pulling out what looked to be a pendant of sorts. Hanging off of a white string was what looked to be a glass water droplet resembling the Cascade Badge, half-filled with the liquid it was modeled after. She knelt down, spreading the string and stretching it over Suichi's head, ears and top fin before allowing it to come to rest over his collar.

Toru was staring wide-eyed as he beheld the object, kneeling beside Misty and lifting the glass item into his palm. "But, Misty... isn't this...?"

"Yeah, Mystic Water. They're really rare and hard to come by, but they do make Water-type attacks stronger."

"Don't you need this more than me though?" he enquired, glancing to her out the corner of his eyes. "I mean, you are the leader of a Water gym, after all..."

"It's nothing, I have a couple more." She said with a smile. "Red brought some by with him on one of his last passes through the city and gave them to me."

"Oh, right, that dude with the Pikachu." He murmured thoughtfully, propping his right arm up upon his knee and his head in that same palm. After a moment, a grin slipped across his lips as he looked to Misty again. "Word is you two see a lot of each other..." he said in a very suggestive tone, causing the Water-type trainer to light up like a Cheri Berry.

"E, eh..." she choked out, casting her gaze off to the side with an indignant look. It wasn't before she heard the sound of snickering only a couple of seconds later that she looked back, seeing Toru doing his best to stifle a laugh, something that got her to growl in frustration, and at the same time, succeeded in deepening her blush. "Wh, what's so funny?!"

"Oh, it's just..." he began, quickly hopping up to his feet and beginning to back pedal. "To hear that the tomboy of Cerulean City has interest in the Kanto Regional Champ? I always figured..." he said as he put on a mischievous grin, beginning to turn his body in the direction he had been backing up. "... you were more fond of other girls!"

"WHAT?!" she thundered, immediately springing to her feet and darting towards him. In that instance, the two were off like a shot, Toru laughing the whole way as he sprinted as if the Devil itself were on his heels, which as far as he was concerned with Misty and her temper, may very well have been the case.

As one trainer chased the other, the three Pokemon sitting out merely stared in silence. Flare let out a soft sigh, shaking her head from side to side, as Suichi wore a rather awkward smile as he watched the display before them. Even the faceless Starmie seemed a little embarrassed as its multiple arms sank slightly as it watched.

After about five minutes of running up and down the same streets at full speed, the two eventually wore down. Toru fell back against a wall, leaning forward onto his knees with a few weary chuckles between breaths. He glanced to the older girl after a moment before pushing off the wall, walking over to where she had taken a seat upon the ground and offering his hand to her. "Here."

She looked up at him as he spoke, giving him a rather hard gaze for a few seconds before it softened into a smile. "Jerk..." she uttered, taking his hand and pulling herself to her feet with his assistance.

"I have a little brother and sister, what do you expect?" he asked with a grin, dipping his hands into his pockets.

"Considering it's you?" she began, swiftly reaching around and grasping his ponytail firmly before yanking on it, causing him to lean back and yell sharply in pain as he grasped at the air for something to help him pull free. "Not a whole lot."

"AYE AYE AYE, UNCLE, I GIVE!!! LEGGO ALREADY!!!"

"That's more like it." She said, clearly satisfied as she released his hair, watching him stand upright and rub the back of his head. "Listen, don't do anything stupid in Sinnoh, alright? Your parents would kill you if they heard you got mixed up in some kind of trouble."

"And yet you talk like you're my mother herself..." he muttered as he straightened out his ponytail, before putting on a confident smirk. "I've told my parents, I'll tell the same to you and anyone else. It's just a regular tour around another region. I'll be there and back inside of a year with more new partners and a few new gym badges to add to my collection alongside yours and the other Kanto leaders'. Who knows? I might even come home with one of the infamous legendaries."

"Yeah, that'll be the day." she said with a soft laugh before slipping a hand into her pocket once more, this time drawing out a Poke Ball. "Return Starmie." She said as she pointed it to the Starfish Pokemon. The Poke Ball shot out a beam of red light, connecting with the Pokemon and engulfing it before it lost shape and was drawn inside. With a quick tap on the button, it shrank back down, no larger than a Ping Pong ball, and deposited it once again in her pocket. "Be sure to call in every once in a while. Your parents aren't the only ones who worry, after all."

"Yeah, I know." He said with a smile as he pulled Suichi's Poke Ball off his belt, pointing it to the Pokemon silently and calling it back the same manner. He placed it on his belt line, in turn grasping another and tossing it up, releasing his Pidgeot, Azura, from its Poke Ball. "Don't let too much fresh blood whip you at the gym while I'm gone, I'll think you've lost your stride."

"Of course not."

Toru knelt down, scooping Flare up into his arms as he walked over to the Bird Pokemon and settled down gently upon its back, legs crossed as he put Flare in his lap. "Azura, care to run us to Vermillion City?"

With a shrill cry, the massive bird spread its wings, beginning to beat them at a slow pace that gained speed rather swiftly, until they began lifting off the ground.

"Take care of yourself, Misty!" Toru hollered over the sound of the winds being kicked up by the wing beats.

"See you!" she hollered back, just before Pidgeot took to the air, leaving her to cover her face with one arm hovering over her eyes as the dust and wind flew up. Only seconds later, she lowered it, spying the young man already hundreds of feet over the city and beyond where they were. With a light huff, she turned and made her way back to the gym.

Toru chuckled, feeling the heavy winds rushing by his face as he looked down to Flare, making sure she was safely sitting in his lap in the nook he'd provided for her. With a nod of confirmation, he looked ahead at the ground already so far below. In just a couple of moments, they would pass outside of the Cerulean City limits. With what seemed like a nostalgic sigh, he gazed over his hometown.

* * *

Isaac had been correct, top speed would have gotten them to arrive in Vermillion City in just two hours. Time was not a concern for Toru though, so he had no problem allowing the Pidgeot to simply take things at a comfortable pace. This pace, chosen by Azura, had added another two hours onto their arrival time, with no qualm between trainer or Pokemon about it. It seemed that setting off on such a positive note, with a great start to the journey to Sinnoh and positive wishes from family and friends alike, and a pleasantly uneventful ride from one city to the next, was an omen for an equally pleasant trip.

Of course, as he and many before him had learned through experience, a few positive first steps in anything was never a deciding factor for how everything would play out. It was a lesson that he had learned and been reminded of time and time again through out his life, and as fate would have it, he was soon to have another encounter with this fact of life.

Toru's eyes eased open as he felt a slight sense of weightlessness come over him. He glanced up at the sky, taking notice of the place of the Sun and perking an eyebrow. _'It's been a few hours already... gotta be at least, what, 3:00? 3:30?'_ He sat up, glancing over his shoulder towards Azura's head and the land they were approaching, immediately donning a smile as he beheld the sight before him. Vermillion City, the home to the leader of the Vermillion Gym and its leader, Lt. Surge, not to speak of the S.S. Anne, one of the most famous cruise ships in any of the known regions. _'Heh, too bad I couldn't afford to get a ride to Sinnoh on that sweet thing. Oh well, least mine'll still be comfy.'_ The young man then turned his eyes to his Vulpix, who was sleeping soundly in his lap. With a gentle nudge from his right hand to her side, he watched her begin to stir. "Come on, sleepyhead. We're about to land, and I think Azura'd appreciate it if we didn't overstay our welcome on her back."

Flare's eyes opened slightly, visibly squinting in the sunlight for a moment before she sat up with a yawn, breathing out small embers of flame that were quickly blown away by the air rushing around their bodies. She crawled up to the edge of Toru's lap, looking out over his side to the city they were now soaring over, yipping softly and leaning a bit further over, an action that caused Toru to fix his hand upon the Vulpix's back.

"Careful." He warned. "You'll splat pretty well if you drop from this height."

* * *

It was only a few moments later that Azura landed, settling down across the street from the Pokemon Center. Toru slid off the Bird Pokemon's back as Flare leapt off, picking her Poke Ball off his belt and turning to face her with a smile. "Thanks girl." He said, calling her back into the sphere as he returned it to his belt. He nodded to Flare silently, immediately crossing the street and passing through the sliding doors of the Pokemon Center. Without even stopping to look around, he made a b-line for the PC resting beside the check-in counter. It only took him a few seconds after stopping before it to punch in his trainer ID and log in to the system. A few more clicks of the mouse after that, and he found himself staring at the screen prompting him to deposit his Pokemon. Reaching to his belt, he pulled four of his six Poke Balls off, looking them over. His Pidgeot Azura, a Blaziken named Ignus, a Minun named Amber, and a Mightyena named Shadow. "Catch ya later guys." He said softly as he placed the Poke Balls into the transmitter one at a time, watching as each one was engulfed within white light resembling small lines of lightning bolts before vanishing from view. With all said and done, he logged out and smiled down to Flare. "It's you, me and Suichi again. Ready to tackle another region?"

The Vulpix responded with an enthusiastic bark, causing Toru to laugh softly and lift her up, setting her on his right shoulder with a grin as he started towards the exit. "Alright, let's swing by the harbor for a bit. We've got a few hours before we're set to leave, may as well enjoy 'em."

After a short stroll from the Pokemon Center, Flare and Toru stood at the harbor. Wingull were squawking over the boats, pestering the occasional passer-by for food, or diving to steal what had fallen on the ground before any others got to it first. A cool ocean breeze was rolling in from the West, accompanied by the sounds of small waves splashing up against the docks and all of the ships tied to shore. Countless people were moving about, many with luggage, either boarding to disembark, or returning home from a trip for whatever reason. This was why Toru loved it at the edge of the sea. A balance between the daily life of people and the nature was always guaranteed in one form or another.

"Every time I come here, it looks different." He muttered, gazing over the expanse of people and Pokemon moving about. "Guess that's a part of getting older for people, Pokemon and places."

Flare nodded softly in agreement, continuing to hang over his shoulder for a moment before her ears perked up. She began sniffing, tilting her head back and turning it around as a particular odor wafted through the air, carried by the gentle breeze blowing by them.

Toru glanced out the corner of his eyes to his partner, perking an eyebrow in curiosity at the Fox Pokemon's actions. "Caught a whiff of something?" he questioned. Almost immediately after, Flare leapt off of his shoulder, breaking off into a run the second all fours were on the ground, pursuing the scent that she had caught wind of. Her trainer took on a more serious expression, immediately chasing after her. _'Flare doesn't get like this very often. It's only ever happened the few times something serious was happening... what'd she find?'_

It was several moments later that Toru caught up to Flare in a less-traveled part of the harbor, mostly occupied by rusty old equipment no longer in use, and crates filled with spare parts and other such things. Seldom did people come to this side of the shipyard that weren't part of a ship's crew. Currently, they were alone, which Toru thought to be all the better at the sight of what Flare had stopped over.

"Blood..." he said in a hushed tone, kneeling down and dipping his index finger in it. _'Still warm... something's just happened.'_ The young man raised his eyes forward, seeing more drops going further on and turning a corner around some steel crates. There was a significant amount of space between each drop, so he assumed whoever or whatever the crimson liquid belonged to, it was either a mere flesh wound, or they were running out of blood to bleed. He turned a morbidly serious expression to the Vulpix, dipping his index finger in a puddle of water just within his arm's reach and rubbing the blood off in it using his thumb. "Can you track it to who it belongs to?"

With an assuring nod, Flare tilted her head back, sniffing the air again before turning her eyes to a set of crates stacked up near a corner. She made a quick dash to them, slowing as she crept around the large containers, surveying them cautiously before peeking through a gap large enough to fit an average-sized person through sideways. She immediately turned her head, barking and calling her trainer over.

Toru jogged up beside Flare, looking down to the Pokemon and watching her nod in the direction of the crates. He laid his left hand upon the edge of one as he leaned over, peeking in cautiously and catching sight of something he absolutely did not expect. It was a Pokemon, resting with a clearly pained expression upon its face. From its waist to the ends of its skinny legs, it was green. Above that, its body was white, with extensions growing out from the waist that strongly resembled a miniskirt of sorts. The bangs of its green hair merged together into a single pointed mass between its eyes, as the rest on the sides extended out into what resembled pigtails, with two red fin-like extensions rising out from the top of its head beside them. "It's... a Kirlia..."

His words seemed to bring the Pokemon around, as its ruby colored eyes eased open, gazing in his direction before they widened, clearly panicked as it attempted to scoot off to the side, its motions broken by a sharp wince. Its left arm rose up, favoring the right shoulder as its head lowered and a shudder shot through the Pokemon's body.

"Hey, hey, take it easy..." he said in as calm a voice as he could, moving completely in front of the opening before kneeling down. He put on a warm, yet at the same time concerned expression, donning a soft smile. "You don't have to worry; I just want to help you..."

There was a moment of silence after that, neither of the two parties approaching or backing off from the other. Kirlia was clearly studying the human and his partner before it, as that same human waited upon a response, having no intention to push the matter if it wouldn't allow him near, knowing that would only create more unnecessary tension. As soon as Kirlia was done surveying the person before it, it slowly rose to its feet, beginning to slowly approach Toru, a hand clutching what he could obviously assume to be the wounded shoulder. It emerged from the crates, wearing a rather unsure, timid expression as it looked up to Toru.

Toru nodded softly, slowly reaching his hand out and placing it upon the Kirlia's head. "There... see? I won't hurt you..." he said reassuringly, gently rubbing between the red fins as his eyes wandered over to the shoulder. There was a deep gash at the joint where it connected with the arm, but from what limited medical experience he had from his time on the road, he didn't see it as a threat to the Kirlia's life. It was only a second later that something happened, something that clearly took him by surprise.

"_Who are you?"_ a female voice rang out in his mind.

Toru's eyes shifted swiftly to the Kirlia, noting the curious expression upon its face. He stared at her, bewildered by what he'd just heard. He managed to compose himself about a moment later, raising his free hand and pointing his index finger at her. "Uh... did you just talk...?"

"_Sort of... I'm psychic after all, so you ought to be able to figure it out..."_

"Eh, good point..." he muttered, a little embarrassed. _'Right, Psychic-types can transmit messages directly into your mind... at least that makes things easier...'_ "So, what happened to you? How'd you wind up with that injury? Furthermore, what are you doing out here in Kanto? I've never seen a Kirlia in this region that didn't belong to someone..."

The Kirlia turned her head, a more somber expression coming over the Pokemon's face. _"I... I really don't want to talk about it..."_

"Well, at least tell me if it was something poisonous?"

Kirlia simply shook her head in response, remaining silent as Toru gave a sigh of relief.

"Glad to hear... come on." he said, gently taking the Psychic-type into his arms. "Let's get you to the Pokemon Center so Joy can handle you."

Kirlia, who was taken by surprise as a result of the sudden motion, recoiled as she felt herself rising up as Toru stood. _"H, hey, cut it out!"_ she demanded in protest. _"I can handle myself, thanks!"_

"Then why haven't you left?" he questioned without missing a beat, feeling the Pokemon flinch slightly in his arms as a result of the question as Toru began to walk. "I'm no expert, I've only raised a Xatu a few years back in the Johto region, but I know damned well that teleporting is one of the most basic things you Psychic-types are capable of, and if you can't, then there's something wrong. It's as natural to your type as walking, right?"

There was silence for a moment as Toru walked with Kirlia, Flare following at his heels, eying the Psychic Pokemon with clear curiosity. That silence was quickly broken though, by the sound of a shrill, crackling voice.

"WAIT UP JUST A MINUTE!"

Toru stopped dead in his tracks, wearing a rather baffled expression by the loud holler as he turned his head, laying his eyes upon what looked to be a man in a white lab coat, a scientist of sorts, looking rather winded, like he had been running for some time. At his side were a Seviper and a Weezing, either of the Pokemon looking to be in much better shape than the man he assumed was their trainer. He fully turned, shifting Kirlia to be cradled in his right arm as his left dipped into his pocket. "What's up pal? You look like you're about to kill over."

The scientist took a few more breaths, practically gulping down air as he did before standing upright, pointing an accusing finger at Toru and wearing a scowl. "That... that Kirlia belongs to me! Hand it over!"

"Jeez, you're polite..." Toru muttered sarcastically. He glanced to Kirlia, taking notice of the fact that she was now actually leaning into him instead of away from him, casting a wary gaze to the trainer. Toru observed her for a few seconds longer, gauging her reactions and body language before he turned a much more serious expression to the trainer. "She's pretty scared right now, and she's hurt. Why don't you come with us to the Pokemon Center so we can get her treated?"

"That's not necessary." The scientist replied, composing himself better now, but still wearing a very serious expression and speaking in a rather commanding tone. "Give it to me and be on your way."

'_This guy reeks of something...'_ Toru thought to himself, his expression becoming more serious after his last statement. _'And that unsettled feeling in my gut, my radar's going off. Whoever he is, there's nothing right about him...'_ "Why don't you spare me the trouble of walking over and just call her back into her Poke Ball?" he questioned, drawing an unsettled look from Kirlia.

The scientist shared this look, clearly becoming unnerved again as he folded his arms over his chest and lowered his head slightly. "I, I don't have it with me." He said, his voice shaking nervously. "It... it got knocked into the harbor. Just give me the damned Pokemon, alright?! I'm very busy, and I don't have time to waste with a kid!"

This settled it for Toru. His response verified his suspicions, from body language to words, it all pieced together, leaving him to say only one thing to the scientist. "Huh... I don't buy a word of it." He remarked coldly.

"What?!"

"You're full of crap." Toru said bluntly. "As unlikely as it still would've been, I might've bought it if you weren't such a nervous wreck, but everything about you reeks. You're a lying sack of it." His eyes wandered from the scientist to the Seviper at his side, taking note of something red coating the bottom of its flesh by its tail blade. He immediately cast a glance to Flare, who was wearing the same hard look as he was at the moment before looking back to the scientist. "I'm not going to waste my breath on a worm like you. Get out of here, now."

This seemed to send the man into a fit. He growled deeply, clenching his fists at his sides and hunching over, his teeth clenched and his brows furrowed. "You... you dare refuse my orders?!"

'_He's an egomaniac... eh, figures with this type.'_ "In a heartbeat."

"Fine, if that's the way you're going to have it, then I'm going to take it from you! Seviper, Weezing, flatten him and bring Kirlia back!" he commanded, his tone bitter as he threw one arm forward. The Pokemon followed the motion, each of them preparing their own individual attacks. Seviper's tail took on a violet glow as it approached Toru, and its eyes focused upon him, as Weezing rolled back in mid-air slightly, filling its mouth with one of the many substances it was capable of spewing forth.

"For a scientist, you're awfully stupid." Toru remarked in a bored tone as he reached for his left side, pulling off Suichi's Poke Ball and tossing it up over his head. "Flare, Suichi, let's end this quickly. Flamethrower on Weezing, Ice Beam on Seviper."

In a flash of light, Suichi was released from his Poke Ball. Still in mid-air, it opened its mouth and took careful aim at the Seviper below. In a flash, a ray of pale blue light fired out, smashing square into the Seviper's head and stopping it dead in its tracks. The Vaporeon immediately moved his head to direct the beam along Seviper's body, hitting it from head to tail with the frigid ray. Suichi touched down on the ground in front of the Seviper, now frozen solid in a block of ice, watching it blink within its icy prison.

At that same moment, Flare had unleashed a tremendous blast of flames from her mouth, concentrated into a single stream aimed at the floating Pokemon. The timing could not have been better, as Weezing opened its own mouths and began spewing forth Sludge. The flames did more than just engulf the Sludge though, they ignited it, trailing all the way into its mouth and driving it back a couple of yards before the poison within its body exploded, the force escaping the mouths of its twin heads and blowing them back, causing it to smash into the scientist and slam him fiercely to the ground with the unconscious Poison-type laying upon him.

"Good job you guys." He congratulated his two Pokemon warmly, looking between them before he approached the scientist. "Too bad this one was such a wimp though." He nodded to Suichi, the motion calling the Bubble Jet Pokemon to his side. He gently set Kirlia upon his back, smiling reassuringly at the Psychic type before he turned back to the scientist, quickly lifting Weezing off of him and gently setting it on the ground. "I'm not going to blame your Pokemon, they were just following orders... but..." he said, reaching down and grasping the scientist by the collar, yanking him up into a sitting position and glaring ferociously at him. "I can certainly beat the dog shit out of the trainer. I'm willing to bet that you're also the creep who hurt Kirlia like this, and you persist in hunting her like that, treating her like an object instead of a living creature. Care to offer up an explanation, or should I beat you black and blue before I haul your sorry ass off to the cops?"

"Not likely." A new voice said, immediately drawing Toru's eyes from the scientist to three men wearing heavy black trench coats. One of them, the leader, had black hair concealed mostly by what looked to be a beret of the same color. The other two behind him perhaps stood out the most, one with hair hanging just over his shoulders, and the other's neatly combed back, both of their colors brown with green-tipped ends. The man with the black beret, clearly the leader of the trio, spoke up, wearing a look that left no room for questions. "We'll be bringing him back with us along with Kirlia."

"Ah, so there's a group of you creeps..." Toru said, merely dropping the scientist and allowing his head to smack against the pavement. He sighed, gently taking Kirlia off of Suichi's back and looking to the man with the black beret. "And if I refuse?"

Wordlessly, the men dipped their hands into their trench coat pockets, each drawing out three Poke Balls and tossing them forward one after the other. From each one emerged a different Pokemon. Golbat, Arbok, Muk, Dustox, Kadabra, all Pokemon he was familiar with, and some new species that he had read about, but was not familiar with face to face, Purugly, Toxicroak, Skuntank, and Bronzor.

"Yeah, didn't see that coming..." Toru remarked sarcastically, rubbing his neck with his left hand as he shut his left eye, studying the layout between them for a moment, pondering his options. Finally, he simply smiled, tapping the tip of his left boot on the ground. "Well, guess we've only got one way to go about it. Flare, Suichi..." he said, looking between his Pokemon with a gaze they were both familiar with, one that meant he had something up his sleeve. "You know what happens when you mix fire and water, right?"

Without wasting a second, the two Pokemon turned and fully faced the three men, bracing themselves as they opened their mouths. From Flare's erupted a massive flame, spread out in 5 directions from the center, while from Suichi's surged forth a torrent of water that was released with such force, it actually drove the Bubble Jet Pokemon back a couple of inches. It looked as if the attacks were going to crash right into the center of the group pursuing Kirlia, but less than a yard from them, the attacks converged, erupting into a wall of steam the instant they made contact.

"SCRAM!" Toru hollered, immediately turning off to the side and making a mad dash back in the direction from whence he came, Suichi and Flare at his heels, and the pained yells of the men and Pokemon audible, no doubt a result of the scalding hot steam that was already billowing over the rooftops of nearby warehouses and sheds.

* * *

"_Not exactly what I'd call 'heroic' back there..."_ Kirlia remarked to Toru as they sat in the Pokemon Center, being careful not to move as one of the Chansey working at the center began wrapping what remained of her now mostly healed wound in gauze.

"Hey, it saved your butt, what're you complaining about?" Toru responded, reclining in his seat with his arms folded over his chest. "Besides, we were just a little outnumbered there..."

"_I suppose with the odds considered, it's excusable."_ She said with a smile before a more curious expression. _"Why were you so determined to help me though? You could've gotten yourself into serious trouble."_

"I've just never been one to turn a blind eye to another person's problems."

"_So you're a meddler."_

"Basically."

Kirlia sighed, shaking her head softly before she felt the wrapping stop, looking to her shoulder and rotating slightly. There was still a little pain, but she didn't acknowledge it with even a wince. _"Well... I appreciate the help, so thank you."_

Toru shrugged, standing up and allowing his arms to fall to his sides, watching as the Chansey finished gathering up its supplies and left the room. "Ah, it's no sweat. Although, I am curious what you're going to do from here."

"_What do you mean?"_ Kirlia asked, looking up to him inquisitively.

"Well... we only gave those guys the slip back there. I can't say I have as much personal experience as some people, but I have enough to tell you that creeps like that will only quit chasing you once they know they can't win, and, well, normally that involves beating the lesson into the more stubborn ones..." Toru sighed, tilting his head back towards the ceiling. "I hate being the bearer of bad news, but, they're not done chasing you."

'_Like he has to tell me...'_ she thought to herself with a bothered sigh. _"Well... that is a problem, but I can handle it myself..."_

"Doubt it." Toru replied almost instantly in a casual tone.

This clearly annoyed the Psychic Pokemon, who cast a rather unpleasant gaze to the human that had saved her. _"Excuse me?"_

"You haven't already forgotten that I pulled your fat out of the fire against that guy in the lab coat, and he was a total wimp. I don't know what those other guys were like, but they don't play by your traditional one-on-one rules. You'd be flattened in a second."

"_I can just teleport away, you know."_

"Did you teleport away before?"

"_... Yes..."_

"And it didn't work as well as you'd hoped, right?"

"_... No... No, it didn't..."_ Kirlia's head sank slightly as her gaze fell to the floor, bringing her tiny hands together as a somber expression came over her face.

For a moment, there was silence as the two of them pondered. Clearly, this left a dilemma. To leave Kirlia alone would simply mean that she would be vulnerable to whatever means they had used before to leave her in such bad shape. At the same time, he knew no one he could leave Kirlia with that could protect her. In the worst case, if he did leave her with someone, if he were to make the flight back to Cerulean and leave her with Misty, his family or one of his friends, the possibility that they would be dragged into serious trouble was very real. Toru couldn't call upon them just to put them at risk like that. The young man highly doubted she had anyone in this region she knew and could lean upon, either. Finally, the silence was broken with a sigh from Toru, followed by what he felt would be the best course of action.

"Well... how about you come with me?"

Kirlia raised her eyes, wearing a dumbfounded expression as she looked to the trainer. _"Is your head screwed on right? You realize that if they find out that I'm with you, then they'll come hunting you down..."_

"They might come hunting me down anyways because I'm a witness to something or something like that." He said, unshaken by the thought. "Thing is though, I'm going to the Sinnoh region. In fact, my ship's due to set sail in just a couple of hours. I don't know how determined these creeps are, but I'm pretty sure we can shake them. It's a long ways from where we are now after all."

Despite his offer and the points he made, Kirlia turned her head away, staring at a table on one side of the room. _"I appreciate it, but I'm not looking to be owned by anyone. Those balls you trainers carry us in seem pretty stuffy, if you ask me..."_

"Hey, I can understand that." Toru said with a smile, pointing to Flare, who was sitting and observing silently. "I've had her for 10 years, and the only time she ever went into her Poke Ball when we were traveling was when there was a serious emergency, rare though they were. She's not particularly wild about them either, right?"

Flare responded with a yip of confirmation from where she sat, staring Kirlia straight in the eyes to show just how serious she was. It was no lie, the first time Toru kept Flare in her Poke Ball for more than an hour on a casual basis, she not only broke out, but reduced the sphere to a pile of molten scrap. She respected Toru as a trainer and a longtime friend, but she was highly independent, and hated being cooped up.

"_Maybe so..."_ Kirlia responded, sounding a bit less objecting this time, but still not particularly enthusiastic. _"But it's more than just being in one of those things. I don't want to belong to anyone. Others are content with it, but I'm not."_

"Fair enough." Toru said, still wearing his smile. "But I never said that I'd make you my Pokemon. I just suggested you tag along. You don't have to go out of your way to battle for me or anything. You can just be a traveling companion. How's that sound?"

"_You don't think that's a little strange?"_ Kirlia asked, not at all afraid of being forward. _"As you humans would classify me, I'm a wild Pokemon. Wouldn't that raise some eyebrows?"_

"I already get looks because I never keep Flare in her Poke Ball, I don't care. It'd be just the same with you. All you've gotta do is make the choice, and whatever it is, I'll accept it."

Silence fell between them once again as Kirlia looked him in the face. She could tell without having to read into his mind that he was totally serious about all of this. It was actually a little baffling to her. She'd observed the actions of countless humans in her life, and encountered dozens in the wild, but she'd never been face to face with one who was so direct and simple with his thoughts. _"You're sure that you'd have no problem getting involved?"_

"Positive."

"_Even if you end up getting dragged into serious trouble because of me?"_

"Even if. Besides, what's the worst that could happen?"

'_Famous last words...'_ she thought to herself with a sigh before nodding to him. _"Alright... I'll come along with you."_

"Awesome." Toru said with a smile in response to her answer, sitting back down and leaning forward, propping himself up on his knees by his arms. "Now... there's just one more thing I'd like to ask you."

"_That being?"_

"Well... is there anything that I could call you by? After all, there are countless Kirlia out there after all; I figure that if you're alright with it, I'd like to call you something that sets you apart from the others."

"_One of those ridiculous pet names? Erm, no offense, Flare..."_ she added that last part in a more gentle tone as she looked to the Vulpix, who merely shrugged. _"I've seen the names that you humans give out. Quite frankly, I think they're embarrassing."_

"Well... why don't you choose then?"

Again, she was silenced, if only for a couple of seconds before she raised her good arm and rubbed the back of her head with it. _"You're really an odd breed of trainer..."_

"You wouldn't be the first to think so." He said with a grin.

"_Well... as long as I can choose, fine... but you'll have to give me some time to think on it."_

"Alright, that's fair. Take as much as you need." He then stood up, slipping his hands into his pockets and heading for the door. "I'm gonna talk to the nurse in charge and see if you'll be good to go tonight. For now, rest. Flare, keep her company will ya?"

Kirlia watched as the young man left the room, staring until the door shut behind him with a curious expression upon her face. She felt that, in contrast to many other humans who she had encountered in her life, this one was different. Not in the means of physical strength, special abilities or mental prowess, but his personality was, to say the least, unique. She shut her eyes, lying back upon the small bed she had been sitting on as she began to relax.

* * *

An hour and a half later, Toru stood at the docks, holding Kirlia in his right arm as Flare lay draped over his left shoulder as she had earlier that day. The three gazed upon the ship that would be taking them to Sinnoh. There was no question, it was not the S.S. Anne, but it was still quite spectacular. By just a rough estimate, the young man figured it to be about two-thirds the size of the massive ship, which still said a great deal for its size, as the S.S. Anne was large enough to carry a few thousand passengers on its yearly trip around the globe. The words 'S.S. Mary' were painted in red and silver on the hull, the letters alone standing at least two times taller than him.

"_Are you rich or something...?"_ Kirlia asked, gazing to the young man that was holding her.

"... No..." Toru responded meekly, looking back and forth between the ticket in his left hand and the boat before him to ensure he wasn't seeing things. "That's why I'm actually a little worried right now..." _'I am __**so**__ glad that Mom doesn't offer to pay for my trips often... we might all end up broke of she did...'_ Toru glanced down to his ticket, sighing and shrugging his shoulders softly before a feeble grin crossed his lips. "Well... no changing it this late, so may as well enjoy it. Besides, with one this size, there're bound to be a few dozen trainers to keep us busy, right Flare?"

Flare barked vigorously, her six tails rising up with her ears as she flashed a smile to her trainer.

Toru chuckled, starting towards the bridge where passengers boarded, looking straight ahead with an expression of confidence and anticipation. Another journey lay ahead of him, another region to trek and survey with his own eyes. As he approached the boarding area, he could hardly contain himself, unable to restrain an excited grin spreading over his lips. _'Next stop, Sinnoh.'_

In the shadows of the docks, the man wearing the beret from earlier stood silently, watching as the trainer boarded with Kirlia in his arms, wearing a morbidly serious expression upon his face.

"Sir," a voice behind him said softly, drawing his attention to long-haired man and his partner that had been accompanying him. "We've disposed of the failure and taken his Pokemon as ordered."

"Very good..." the man with the beret said, turning fully to face the two. "Kirlia's on the move to the Sinnoh region with that boy."

"Should we follow them onto the ship and take them out there?" the man with the combed back hair enquired.

"No. Even if we'd have the advantage one-on-one, we'd draw too much attention to ourselves, and we can't have that until the boss admits free movement. Alert the main branch in Sinnoh of the situation, and then we'll catch the next boat out." The man then turned back to face the boat, donning a sinister smile as he folded his arms over his chest. "We'll tie up our loose ends soon enough..."

* * *

Well, there you have it, the start of another one of the countless Pokemon fics out on the web. I'm hoping to make this different than lots of them out there in some respects, but we'll see just how that works out. In any case, thanks for readin'. 


	2. Pincer Attack on Route 218

**Another Journey Chapter 2**

**Conflict in Sinnoh: Pincer Attack on Route 218**

I do not own Pokemon, its world, or any of its creatures, but all original characters belong to their respective creators, along with a few of them and this story being my own, obviously.

* * *

Three days passed seemingly instantly for Toru upon the S.S. Mary. A good portion of it was spent battling other trainers aboard the ship, honing he, Flare's and Suichi's skills as a team, as well as getting to know a few new individuals. What time wasn't spent battling, he and his partners were either spending taking advantage of what the ship had to offer in terms of entertainment and relaxation, or trying to speak with Kirlia, who remained very apprehensive about opening up to any of them about her life before their encounter with each other. If there had been any speaking done, it was of what they would do regarding her situation, with few, if any, helpful results. In the morning of the fourth day, when the ship docked in Canalave City at the western-most side of Sinnoh, they were still faced with the same dilemma.

Toru breathed out contently as he stepped foot off of the S.S. Mary for the first time since they had left Vermillion City, holding Kirlia in his arm and Flare on his shoulder. His immediate action was to break from the crowd also disembarking from the massive vessel, walking at a hurried pace off to the side and towards a less crowded section of the port. It took him a few minutes of bumping shoulders and dodging around bags, people and Pokemon, but he finally escaped from what he assumed was the morning rush and came to a halt by a stack of crates, breathing a sigh of relief as he smiled to his partner and their companion. "Well, here we are, the Sinnoh region."

"_None too soon either."_ Kirlia remarked. _"That place was so uncomfortable..."_

"You're kidding, right?" Toru said with a bewildered expression, kneeling down and setting Kirlia gently on her feet on the stony path. "My bed at home isn't as nice as the one they had in there. I've never nodded off so fast in my life."

"_Well, good for you."_ Kirlia said with something of a frown. _"But I'm not particularly wild about being stuck on a floating tin can in the middle of the ocean."_

"Uh-huh." Toru responded flatly, allowing Flare to leap off his shoulder and onto the ground before he stood up again. "Well you had to get to Kanto from Hoenn somehow, right? You sure as shoot didn't fly, you're no Pelipper..."

"_Forget it..."_ she said tiredly, folding her slender arms over her chest. _"We're here, so what do we do now?"_

"Well..." Toru said thoughtfully, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked up towards the cloudy morning sky. "There's supposed to be a gym here, but, I'm not ready for it, so I suppose we should head to the next town over..."

"_Not ready for it?"_ Kirlia echoed, now finding it her turn to be perplexed. _"You have two high-level Pokemon on your team, and you're not ready for it? Is it a bad type-alignment or something?"_

"Nah, nothing like that. Flare and Suichi don't fight gym battles much for me, haven't since about... I dunno, Lavaridge Town back in the Hoenn region?" He turned an inquisitive gaze to Flare, receiving a nod from the Fox Pokemon. "Yeah, that's right." He confirmed as he began to walk with Kirlia and Flare at his heels.

"_Why's that?"_ Kirlia asked, glancing up at him.

"Well, we weren't really giving the others in our team too much to do, as strong as Flare and Suichi are. The only real problems we've had were if, for instance, we were pitted against Wattson's Electric-types, since that put Suichi at a disadvantage." He chuckled softly for a few seconds as they passed out of the harbor and into town, his gaze fixed straight ahead. "So since then, Flare and Suichi have fallen back for the most part. Granted, they still battle, but mostly only in the toughest gyms in each region, or whenever the others have gone down in battle. Otherwise, if they ever want in on the action, all they've gotta do is ask."

"_And your Vaporeon does that how?"_

"Hey, Pokeballs aren't soundproof ya know. Suichi just pops out if he wants to fight."

Kirlia sighed, shaking her head a little bit. _"You're bizarre..."_

It wasn't a couple of seconds after she said that that Toru's stomach growled, causing the trio to come to a dead halt, the two Pokemon staring at the human accompanying them.

"And hungry..." Toru said with a mildly embarrassed chuckle as he began walking again. "I forgot to eat breakfast while we were still on the ship..."

Flare cast Toru a particular frown after that, another look that he had come to know from the six-tailed creature, one that was as good as a scolding from his mother.

"Oh, chill out. I wanted to check out a couple of last-minute battles that the other trainers were having is all, it's not a crime."

"'_It's not very bright either.' she says..."_ Kirlia stated dryly, drawing a look from Toru and Flare and stopping them in their tracks.

"So you're a translator now too?"

"_Looks and expressions can only take you humans so far in understanding us."_ Kirlia said as she continued to walk. _"In any regard, let's get something to eat. I don't want to hear that all the way through the trip."_

"You and me both." Toru muttered as he briefly increased his pace with his partner to catch up to the Psychic-type. "Let's find a phone after this too. I've gotta call my parents and let them know that I got here in one piece."

"_Miss your home already?" _Kirlia remarked in a smug tone, one that drew a chuckle from Toru.

"Nah, but my Mom's one of those worrywart types. She'll have a conniption if I don't keep in contact every once in a while. I think I'm still shaking out the ringing in my ears from the first time she screamed at me about that when I was 10..."

"And yet you're bringing me along on your travels and putting yourself at risk."

"Okay, first off, we've had this discussion already." Toru stated bluntly as he slipped his hands into his pockets, cocking his head back slightly and looking at the cloudy sky overhead. "I smacked around one of those guys that looked to be a part of their crew; I don't think they're particularly crazy about me. If they're gonna come after me, they will whether you're with me or not. And second thing, we left those creeps in a giant cloud of steam back at the port in Vermillion. I'm willing to bet they're still scouring the city from top to bottom. If in the unlikely event, and I mean this is a freakin' **huge** 'if', they figure out where we've gotten off to, we'll already be way too far into the region for them to have any hopes of catching up to us."

"_Yeah... I suppose that makes sense. Still, there is the chance."_

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I won't get in over my head." Toru said, turning a grin to the Psychic Pokemon. "If they really outnumber me, we'll just rinse and repeat what we did back in Vermillion."

"_You really think the same trick would work twice if they found us?"_

"It's a scalding hot cloud of smoke, I'm pretty sure that counts as a good distraction."

"_Well... as long as you don't get yourself killed or something like that, I suppose. That is what would be most important in all of this."_

"Exactly. Now I say we quit worrying about this and grab a bite. My stomach feels like it's about ready to eat itself."

Unbeknownst to the trio, in spite of Toru's skepticism of knowledge of their where-a-bouts leaking, a woman wearing a beret and trench coat of the same type as the man back in Vermillion observed them from a nearby alleyway. As she idly brushed the bangs of her waist length blonde hair out of her green eyes and tucked them behind her left ear, she dipped her right hand into one of the coat pockets at her hip, drawing out a cell phone. After dialing several different numbers and sending the call, she placed it to her ear, the call's ring quietly humming in her ear until the other end of the line picked up.

"Have you confirmed the location of the targets?" a male voice asked in a serious tone, clearly uninterested in idle chatter.

"Yes sir. They're traveling north through Canalave just a few hundred feet from the docks. Should I separate them from the crowd and engage them?"

"No, not just yet. Trail them until you're out of the city, capture Kirlia and dispose of the boy. Don't be shy about calling the others for help either. Two Pokemon or not, he evaded three of our agents back in Vermillion, and I want steps to be taken to ensure it does not happen again."

"Speaking of which, what of his Pokemon?"

"Bring them in with Kirlia. The agents in Vermillion reported that they were well trained, so with a little reconditioning we can turn them into valuable assets to work towards our goals. You have your orders, now get to work."

"Yes sir." She managed to respond just before the other line hang up. She sighed softly, slipping the cell phone back into her pocket and withdrawing a Pokeball. "Polite as always..." she muttered before flicking it out, releasing a Glameow from within. She knelt down, smiling warmly to the Catty Pokemon as it approached her and rubbed up against her leg with a purr. "Good girl... I have a job for you." As she said this, she dipped her hand inside the left fold of her trench coat, pulling out a belled black collar and a small handheld device. She reached around her Pokemon's neck, fastening the collar on before affectionately scratching between her ears with her nails. "There's a young man just down the street being followed by a Vulpix and a Kirlia. Follow them for me, and make sure that they don't fall out of your sight, alright?"

Glameow smiled, giving out a soft meow in response as it turned, preparing to dart out of the alley after the boy.

"Hold on there." The woman calmly stated, placing the hand clasping the handheld on Glameow's back to hold her in place before reaching under her neck and flicking the bell. Instead of the bell ringing though, the device in her other hand rang out. She then withdrew her hand, glancing at a yellow blip on the center of a green screen, a sight that curled her lips into a grin. "Alright, I'll catch up shortly. You know the routine from here." She said, those words sending the Catty Pokemon off in a sprint to catch up with their target. She chuckled softly, beginning to unbutton her coat as she watched her partner vanish into the crowd.

* * *

"I'm glad to see that you and Flare arrived in Sinnoh safely, Toru." Kali said, her pleasant expression clearly visible over the video phone. "Did you enjoy the ride there?"

"Yeah, Flare, Suichi and I got to go up against some pretty skilled trainers on the main deck." He responded, wearing his own smile to his mother. _'Although I'm never letting you buy a ticket for me again...'_ he thought with a minor shudder, still not wanting to imagine what that must've cost.

"You didn't forget to eat again, did you?"

Toru winced slightly as he heard this, chuckling nervously and waving a hand dismissively. "Oh, come on, do I look like I'd forget something like that at my age?"

"_Apparently."_ Kirlia quipped offhandedly as she watched a younger trainer playing with an Azurill by the door to the Pokemon Center.

"Anyhow," Toru continued, ignoring Kirlia's remark. "I'm probably gonna head to Jubilife City just to the east of here and see if I can't pick up a Poketch. I need to get some new partners anyways so that we can start picking off gyms in the region."

"That's a good idea." She said reaffirmingly, turning away from the screen for a moment and covering the mouth piece of the phone as she hollered to someone off screen before turning back with a sigh. "It looks like I've got to cut this short Toru. Isaac's using his Haunter to play with Irene again..."

"He isn't doing that trick with Night Shade again, is he...?" he said, his expression shifting into a mild frown as his mother nodded.

"Apparently getting all the upstairs windows to explode last time wasn't enough to get it through his head..." she said with another sigh before smiling at him. "Well, you two be careful out there. Oh, and there's a canal that separates Canalave from the main land, so make sure Suichi's rested up to Surf you across."

'_I wonder if she could've said anything more obvious.'_ "Right, thanks. Talk to you later Mom." Toru reached out and hung the phone up after that, causing the screen before him to go black and silent as it powered down. He then turned, his expression changing from the light smile he had sent his mother off with to a frown down at Kirlia. "Wise ass."

"_Hey, it's not my fault that this is a habit for you."_ Kirlia responded indignantly, folding her arms over her chest.

"Yeah, well..." he paused there, staring at Kirlia for a moment, watching it raise it's eyebrow in expectation of some kind of remark back. None ever came, and he merely sighed and started to walk. "Let's go."

Kirlia couldn't help but smirk slightly at this as she began to follow behind him, glancing to Flare, who seemed to be sharing a similar expression as her own. _'Pokemon 1, Trainer 0.'_ She thought to herself as they passed through the automatic doors of the Pokemon Center and out into the street.

Toru glanced up at the sky, his hands dipped into his pockets as he took notice of the Sun's position almost directly overhead. _'Around noon already... Canalave's not that far from Jubilife, so we should be able to get there by nightfall if we head off now.'_

"Hey, excuse me!" a clearly frantic female voice hollered through the air. "You with the Kirlia and the Vulpix!"

'_So much for 'now'.'_ He thought to himself as he turned his eyes in the direction the call was coming from, his gaze falling onto a woman running in his direction looking to be in her early 20's with blonde hair tied back into a ponytail that stretched down to her waist, green eyes, and...

'_A killer body.'_ He thought, actually staring for a moment as he gave the woman the once over. He wasn't quite sure what to register her current state of dress. Black bellbottom jeans with yellow stripes running up the sides of the legs up to the waist line, black teva sandals with fat, white horizontal stripes at the center of each strap, a white spaghetti-strap top with black trim, straps, and 2 more diagonal stripes running from the sides of the bottom stripe and connecting at the center of the top, and clutching onto the straps of a black purse, embroidered with a design that looked to be some kind of galaxy stretching out over either side of the bag. She was well covered, but save for the bellbottoms below the knees, the clothes hugged to pretty much every curve on her body. _'Modest dress or no, I think I like what I see.'_

"_Stop thinking like that and pay attention."_ Kirlia scolded, turning a stern gaze up to him._ "She's not screaming her head off to flirt with you."_

Toru immediately turned another frown to Kirlia, staring for a few seconds before softening his expression and looking back to the woman. _'Reading my mind without my permission is an invasion of privacy...'_ "Uh, hey, what's the matter?" Toru asked the woman, slipping his hands into his pockets as she stopped before him, leaning over and placing a hand over her chest as she attempted to catch her breath.

"P, please..." she gasped out, looking up to him with a pleading expression. "You've got to help me... my precious Glameow's gone missing, and I can't find her anywhere!"

"Um, alright..." Toru muttered, rubbing his thumbs up against the edges of his pockets. "What happened? How'd it get lost?"

"We were out shopping, and I thought it'd be a good idea to take a short cut to spare us some time... but we passed by a house that had some Houndoom and Mightyena at the gate, and their barking scared my poor little Glameow out of her wits, and she just ran off! I've been running after her and trying to find her for almost an hour now! Please, won't you help me?!"

"Ah, sure..." he responded, obviously a little unsure about all of this. It wasn't very often that someone just came running up asking him to help find their lost Pokemon. He wasn't a Pokemon Ranger or anything like that, after all. In fact, those same thoughts inspired a question within him. "But, why me? I mean, I've got a Vulpix at my heels, I don't think a cat's going to enjoy the company of another canine after a scare like that..."

Flare immediately turned a frown up to him, barking in protest to his statement and sitting indignantly upon her haunches.

"Oh shut up." Toru said in a half-annoyed, half-playful manner. "Fox Pokemon are just a branch on the canine tree, and you've gone after your fair share of Skitty. But, yeah," Toru continued as he turned his eyes back to the woman. "What makes me stand out so much?"

"It's your Kirlia! I don't know a lot about them, but I know that they're Psychic-types! Couldn't it find my Glameow for me with its powers?!"

"Um... I think that's mostly for reading minds, not acting like a radar or anything like that, right Kirlia?" He turned his eyes to the Emotion Pokemon, taking note of a suddenly much more sullen expression upon her face. He knelt down, gently laying a hand atop her head, causing her to snap it in his direction with a gasp.

"_H, huh? Oh... well, I can see into the future to some extent, but unless I've got a good idea of who the person or Pokemon is, I can't really do anything..."_

"No..." the woman almost whimpered, actually dropping to her knees and leaning over, hanging her head down and beginning to sniffle. "I... I've had that Glameow since I was just a little girl, we're best friends... and to think that she might be lost..."

"Well, um, couldn't it just go home...?" Toru said, obviously beginning to get a little distressed himself at how this woman was taking the news of that hope being completely knocked out.

"I, I'm not sure..." she choked out, beginning to tremble. "We... we just moved here from Veilstone City a few days ago, so I... I don't know if she knows her way...!"

Toru couldn't help but feel sympathetic towards the woman, reaching out and putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. _'Man... I guess it'd be the same for me if I ever lost Flare like that...'_

"_... Maybe..." _Kirlia said after a moment, stepping forward and placing either hand upon the woman's forehead, causing her head to snap up, revealing eyes now brimming with tears. _"Maybe I can do something..."_ Kirlia shut her eyes, exhaling gently before she began to glow with psychic energy. There was silence for a few moments as Toru, Flare and the woman that had run up to their little group so frantically watched Kirlia work, waiting until the glow finally faded and Kirlia opened her eyes, looking off to the east.

"_I'm not entirely sure, but I think that she ran off in that direction towards Route 218. If we hurry, we can catch her before she wanders too far out."_

"Really?!" the woman exclaimed, quickly wrapping her arms around Kirlia and embracing her. "Oh, thank you, thank you!"

Toru couldn't help but chuckle, grinning at Kirlia and watching her stumble a little as she was released from the sudden embrace, obviously taken aback. "Way to go, Kirlia." His eyes then turned to Flare as he picked her up, placing her over his left shoulder before scooping Kirlia up in his right arm. "We'll come with you, just to make sure she doesn't change directions and we lose her or something."

"You'd really do that for me? Oh, you're so sweet! Thank you!" She immediately leaned forward, swiftly planting a kiss on Toru's cheek before drawing back, smiling brightly at him.

The small trio was sufficiently stunned by this bold, thankful act, Toru more than any of them. It didn't take more than a couple of seconds for his cheeks to light up bright red, a match for the speechless expression on his face. _'Now I remember why being nice is good. It has some serious perks.'_

"Um, hey, shouldn't we get going?" the woman asked, now clearly much calmer in contrast to just a couple of moments ago when she was on the verge of an emotional breakdown in the middle of the street.

"A, ah, right!" Toru stammered, coming to his senses and laughing nervously as he started off in a jog to the east, the woman following at his side, keeping at pace with him. "Glameow, right! Let's get going!"

As they started off, the woman dug into her purse, fishing around for a moment before pulling out a cell phone and hitting the redial button on it. Toru caught sight of this out the corner of his eyes, looking at the woman whenever he could spare a glance as they ran towards the city limits.

"Roy? It's me! I've got great news, I found this boy with a Vulpix and a Kirlia, and, oh, hold on a second..." she paused, turning her head to him with the same smile as before. "I guess I was in such a rush we didn't get to go through introductions. My name's Kaia Marcello, and yours?"

"Oh, ah, it's Toru, Toru Mitsukai!" he responded, still reeling slightly from that kiss from a moment ago. "Nice to meet you!"

She nodded in response, immediately turning back to her phone. "Toru Mitsukai, that's what he says his name is. He and his Kirlia helped find Glam! Yeah, we're heading towards Route 218 now! Can you tell the others for me that everything's working out just fine? Thanks, Roy, you're the best!"

"A friend of yours?" Toru inquired, his eyes now fixed forward as they neared what he assumed were the city limits.

"Yeah, a colleague of mine from my work. He and a few others were helping me out; I just wanted to make sure that they knew everything was under control."

"_Toru, Flare."_ Kirlia said, eying the two of them. _"Don't talk, I'm only broadcasting this to you two... but I don't like the feeling I'm getting from this woman."_

Toru and Flare both exchanged glances after that, gazing each other in the eyes for only a few seconds before looking forward again. _'What's wrong with her?'_ Toru thought. _'I mean, sure, she's a little forward...'_

"_It's not just that... I got a really bad feeling when I read her mind... Maybe it was just me, but be careful, okay?"_

'

* * *

"There she is!" Kaia hollered a several moments after they had passed out of Canalave City, pointing directly to her Pokemon with an ecstatic expression upon her face. "Glam! Glam, it's me, Kaia!"

The Glameow in question turned its head curiously from the direction it was walking, its eyes lighting up at the sight of its trainer and an excited cry, turning and running to her. As soon as she was within reach, the Glameow leapt up, right into the expecting trainer's arms as it began to purr and nuzzle against her.

"Oh, Glam, you had me so worried...!" Kaia stated as she hugged the Pokemon close, leaning her head down and planting a kiss on its forehead. She then glanced briefly over her shoulder to Toru and his Pokemon, smiling warmly to him. "Thanks so much for coming out here with me, and thank you for finding my precious Pokemon, Kirlia."

"No _problem."_ The both of them responded at once, causing them to exchange glances briefly before looking back to the blonde woman, who already had her eyes on her Glameow again and her back turned to them.

"You know," Kaia began, her tone now much different than before, actually seeming to carry a foreboding quality to it. "Most Kirlia couldn't do something like that."

"You don't say...?" Toru asked, beginning to feel a little at unsettled her sudden change in tone. "I thought you didn't know that much about them though?"

"Well, I know enough... For instance, did you know that if you super-charged a Kirlia's energy, it could be used to look through several possible futures instead of a single stream-lined one? Or, if manipulated the right way, it could become a radar of sorts, like you said that it wasn't back there...?"

Kirlia's eyes widened as she heard all of this, sinking back against Toru and clutching onto his shirt. _"Toru..."_

"Yeah..." he muttered, his own expression becoming a bit more serious as he reached for Suichi's Poke Ball hanging off his belt line. "Who are you, really?"

"Me?" Kaia asked, giggling slightly before she turned around, wearing a much more devious grin upon her face as she allowed her Glameow to leap from her arms. "I'm just a woman doing my job..." She raised her left foot up onto her toes and stamped the heel onto the ground, seemingly doing little more than stomping on grass.

It was what followed that simple action that threw Toru completely off his guard though. His head turned swiftly as he heard the ground erupt from behind him, followed by the feeling of something gripping both of his legs, staring down at the ground to find his legs tightly gripped and held in place by a pair of massive claws, unable to make a move away in spite of the attempts he was beginning to make. _'Shit, it's a trap!'_ "Flare, Ember!"

"Not happening!" Kaia proclaimed, snapping her fingers on her left hand. Out of no where, a stream of water shot from the thick foliage of one of the trees, cutting straight through it and slamming into Flare and Toru's left shoulder, knocking the young man onto his side and the Fox Pokemon off his shoulder with a cry of pain as it was slammed into the ground.

"Flare!" Toru hollered, watching as the Fox Pokemon struggled to rise to her feet before being slammed with another blast of water, driving her to the ground and leaving an impression of her body, visible even beneath the short grass growing over the now muddy soil. "Alright, that's enough of this crap!" Toru growled as he released Kirlia from his arm to stand on her own, thrusting his right hand into his pocket and pulling out his pocket knife, the same one he had used earlier in the week to open the box containing his Pokedex, sitting up as he flipped out the blade before slamming it into the flesh beneath the claws of the creature holding him. A loud shriek of pain was audible from the holes created from where the claws surfaced before they released his legs and withdrew into the ground. Wasting no time, Toru practically spun around on the ground before making a leap for Flare, wrapping his arms around the Fox Pokemon and rolling out of the way of a third blast of water, this one blowing a hole at least 3 feet deep into the ground where his partner had been lying not a couple of seconds ago. _'Whatever's shooting that is strong. To make that impression in the ground from that distance, it's at least gotta be standing near Suichi's level...'_

"What the Hell is your problem?!" Kaia exclaimed, obviously taken aback by the actions he'd used to free himself. It was about this time that the creature that had held him emerged from the ground beside her, a Sandslash, bleeding profusely from its right claw, clutching it with its left and shuddering in pain. "What kind of trainer does that to a Pokemon?!"

"I could ask the same of you, you stupid bitch!" Toru growled, pulling Suichi's Poke Ball off his waist and throwing it down, releasing the Vaporeon from its carrier. He glanced down to Flare who, although was conscious, looked to be in a great deal of pain from the blasts. He turned a hateful glare to the woman, cradling his Vulpix in his left arm as he knelt down, wiping the blood off the blade of his knife into the soaking grass. "Let me guess, you're another one of those creeps that wants Kirlia, right?"

"Hm, I'd say you hit the nail on the head..." Kaia said bitterly as she knelt down, gently taking her Sandslash's injured claw into her hands and looking at the wound. It only took her a couple of seconds after that to fish a Poke Ball out and hold it up by Sandslash's head. "Here." She said in a soothing voice as she recalled the injured Mouse Pokemon, returning the ball inside her purse before drawing out four more, throwing them all out at once, releasing Cacturne, Rhydon, Luxray and Venomoth. "You should have just turned it over back in Vermillion when my colleagues told you to, then you wouldn't have really lost anything. Now we're going to have to fine you for the inconvenience of having to track you here. You can start by forking over your Vulpix and Vaporeon, and we can just continue on from there..."

"Ha, you must have taken some kind of a blow to the head. Like there's a chance in Hell I'd ever hand my partners over to a loony bitch like you!" _'Still though... something's up here. If those are her six Pokemon, then...'_ Toru stood silently for a moment, glaring at Kaia and contemplating this before his expression grew even more serious. "... I get it now..."

Kaia raised an eyebrow as she heard this, placing a hand on her hip as she stared at him. "Get what?"

"That Roy guy you called on our way out here... you weren't just letting him know we'd found a lost cat, were you?"

"My, how perceptive of you." Kaia said, snickering softly as she looked to the trees on either side of her. "Come on out! No need to stay hiding if he already knows what's going on, right?"

"It's your fault for throwing out all of your Pokemon at once like that." A man's voice stated from the trees on the left, the side the blasts of water had been coming from. Only a second later had the man emerged a few yards behind Toru, his left hand dipped into his pocket as his right clutched onto a duffle bag slung over his shoulder, his eyes locked on the young man, his Pokemon and the Kirlia they were pursuing. He was a little older and much taller than Kaia, at least standing at 6'5" by a rough assumption, with bleached-white hair fashioned into short spikes pointing towards the back of his head and red eyes, probably colored contacts. A dark green sleeveless shirt stood in contrast to a golden pendant of Rayquaza hanging over his chest. Tigerstripe camo pants and black combat boots with steel plates bolted over the tips garbed him from the waist down, concealing the details of an athletic, lean build. "Show some restraint next time, Kaia."

'_Great...'_ Toru thought to himself with a scowl._ 'Being outnumbered is bad enough, but this guy looks like he could take me pretty easy too...'_ His eyes turned to Kirlia as he felt her arms wrap about his left leg, gazing at her for a second before a grin passed over his lips. "Hey, Kirlia, think you could see us outta here with a Teleport?"

Kirlia flinched against him at mention of this, freezing for a moment before lowering her head in shame, tightening her grip on his leg and remaining silent.

"Sorry, that one's not taking you anywhere." Kaia said, an obviously cocky tone in her voice as she glanced up to her partner. "Isn't that right, Roy?"

"That's right." He confirmed in a serious tone, dropping his bag dipping his hands into the pouch-pockets on his pants, drawing out 5 Poke Balls and throwing them out, revealing his own team composed of Aggron, Dusclops, Ariados, Houndoom and a Shiftry. With a sharp, brief whistle from his lips, his sixth leapt from the tree that the blasts had been coming from, a Bagon that wasted no time in rushing to join its trainer's group, leaping up atop the Aggron and letting out a small roar. "That Kirlia's been surgically modified to keep it from escaping us while we were using it. We implanted a chip..." Roy said, reaching up and pointing to his own skull. "... that shuts down the part of its brain allowing it to teleport so long as it's activated. Long story short, kid, you've got no way out. Give up Kirlia and your Pokemon."

"... Like Hell I'll hand my Pokemon over to sick bastards like you." Toru growled, his tone now filled with hatred towards the trainers, adjusting Flare to rest more securely in his left arm as he readied his pocket knife in his right. _'That they'd do this to anyone... I'll die fighting before I just submit to scum like this...'_ He glanced down to Kirlia, his expression morbidly serious. "They didn't take away your ability to fight at least, right?"

"_N, no... I can still use my other abilities..."_

"Alright... I'm sorry to ask, Kirlia, but I think I'm gonna need your help here..." Toru then blinked, feeling weight shift out of his left arm, looking to see Flare touching down on the ground before them, turning to face Roy's Pokemon alongside Suichi, her teeth bared with flames spilling out from between them, prepared to fight in spite of her clearly already shaky posture. "Flare..."

"_... 'I'm going to fight, and you're an idiot if you think I'd just stand on the side like some helpless child. This is nothing'. That's what she's saying."_ Kirlia paused for a moment after transmitting this message, staring on at Kaia's Pokemon before releasing Toru's leg, stepping forward as she prepared her own psychic energies. _"Fine, I guess I haven't really got anything to lose at this point..."_

"Damn..." Toru muttered, unable to help but chuckle slightly, watching as Suichi turned and stood beside Flare, his own teeth bared just the same as the Fox Pokemon's. "Not even six hours into the region and we're already up to our ears in trouble. Just luck, I guess..."

"Don't kid yourself, Toru." Kaia stated, a very skeptical look on her face as she looked upon their group. "It's 13-on-4, and we've got every type advantage against your three measly little Pokemon. We've already got a collection team tracking a transmitter on my Glameow as well, so in the incredibly unlikely event you did beat us, they'd finish you off. You haven't got a chance against us."

"Yeah, probably not." Toru responded, crouching down slightly as he raised his free arm up to act as a guard for his face. "But it's either this or just let you walk away with my friends here, and I don't think I could live with myself if I let that happen."

"Hmph, suit yourself..." Kaia said, pointing her forward with a sneer. "Everyone, attaaaAAAAHHH!" she cried out in shock as a wall of sand suddenly engulfed the entire field around them, effectively blinding all present and taking everyone off their guard.

"What the Hell is this?!" Roy roared out, shielding his eyes with one arm as he ducked behind his Aggron, reaching up and plucking his Bagon off its head as he leaned against the Iron Armor Pokemon.

"I can't see a thing!" Kaia hollered back, clutching her Glameow close and taking cover in the shadow of her Rhydon.

Toru had taken the initiative of protection just the same, although more for the Pokemon in his company than himself as he folded up his pocket knife, put it away, and pulled the three of them close, turning his back against the sand as it blew against him. It was only a moment into the storm that he felt a hand on his shoulder, gripping onto it firmly.

"Get us out of here!" a female voice hollered over the roaring winds. "Take us back home!"

A glow then lit up around he and this mysterious girl, shining through the veil of sand before it a flash engulfed them, taking Toru's group with it and leaving Roy and Kaia's own groups to endure the remainder of the storm.

* * *

In almost that same instant that the flash had engulfed them, it faded, leaving Toru and the Pokemon in his care paused for a moment. He was the first to open his eyes, taking notice of several differences in their surroundings. Most prominent in his mind was that the sudden sandstorm was gone, replaced with a gentle breeze blowing against his side. The grass under his feet was much tamer and well-kept, and not overgrown or soaked like it had been by the water attacks of Roy's Bagon. There even seemed to be more sunlight shining down than before, or rather, fewer trees to conceal it from view. He finally released his Pokemon, confirming that they were most certainly in a different area, a small town he assumed was a ways away from the sandstorm. His eyes turned to Kirlia, who looked back at him with a curious expression identical to his own.

"That wasn't you, was it?"

"_No... They weren't lying, I really can't teleport..."_

"Then, who...?"

"That would be me." The same female voice from before rang in his ears. He immediately turned, finding himself staring up at a younger girl with dark blue, almost black hair, with a lock of it on each side pulled forward from the back and clasped at the front by two yellow hairclips, a white beanie cap with a pink Pokeball insignia on it, a red scarf that stretched down to her waist, a black sleeveless top over a white one, a pink skirt, and pink boots with black knee-high socks, a golden bracelet over her right wrist, and a Poketch on her left where she clutched a travel bag. Behind here were two Pokemon, a Clefable and a Kadabra, both of them gazing at him silently. "You really should be more careful about who you mess with, those two were majorly bad news."

"Um, thanks..." Toru said, slightly unsure of what was going on, but at the same time grateful that they were out of that mess. He scooped Flare up into his arms, gently stroking the Vulpix behind the ears to help relax her as he stood up, looking down at the shorter girl and putting on a smile. "I owe you one; you saved my butt back there... Uh, where are we though?"

"Twinleaf Town, my home. You can relax here, there's no way they could've tracked us through Kadabra's Teleport."

'_Twinleaf... whoa, we're a ways off of Canalave now. That Kadabra's packing some serious power if it got us all the way here. It doesn't even look winded, either...'_ Toru blinked in a sudden realization as he looked at the girl, grinning nervously. "Ah, sorry about that, I guess I should have introduced myself before I started asking questions. I'm Toru, it's nice to meet you, and thanks again for saving our butts."

"It's nice to meet you Toru." The girl said warmly. "My name's Pearl."

"... Pearl?" Toru asked, pausing as he stared at the girl, the name causing something to click in his mind.

"Yeah, is something wrong?"

"No, no, nothing's wrong, but, um... this may be a stupid question, but, you wouldn't happen to be the same Pearl who stomped Team Galactic at the Spear Pillar and then went on to whip the Elite Four, the former Champion Cynthia **and** the Battle Zone just last year, would you?"

"Well, not to brag..." Pearl said with a shy smile. "But, yeah, I'm that Pearl."

"... Well, crap."

* * *

"It looks like your Vulpix will be just fine." Pearl said as she descended the stairs from her room and approached the table Toru and Kirlia were sitting at, taking a seat near them and leaning forward on her elbows, lacing her fingers together and resting her chin on them. "A good sleep will help her regain her energy, but you should still visit the Pokemon Center in Sandgem Town and have them run a full check on her."

"I'll do that." Toru said with a smile. "Thanks a lot for your courtesy."

"It's not a problem. I'm just wondering though, what were you doing fighting those two? They weren't kidding about the odds, you know, you didn't have a hope of beating them."

'_She must've shown up near the end... it's probably for the best with all the shit they said.'_ "Well, it certainly wasn't by choice..." Toru said with a sigh as he leaned back in his chair. "It was a trap. They were originally after Kirlia, but when I interfered back in Vermillion City and ran off with her before they could get her back; I guess it put me on their blacklist too."

"_I told you that it was a bad idea to get involved..."_ Kirlia stated somberly, her head low. _"Now that you know what kind of people we're up against, maybe you'll listen to reason and just let me OW!"_ she hollered, clutching her head after Toru delivered a quick rap to the top of her skull between the red fins. _"What was that for?!"_

"I've told you half a dozen times already, I'm not abandoning you, stupid." He said sternly, looking at her with a serious expression. "If anything, now I've got an even greater reason not to ditch you. All that crap they said back there really pissed me off..."

"_You can't be serious?!"_ Kirlia stated, looking to him with a stunned expression. _"You've seen what they're willing to do to get what they want! At least without me around you won't be as big of a target!"_

"A target is a target. If they want to put me down, they'll just keep coming after me, whether you're around or not. Until I can find a safe place for you where you can lay low until this entire thing blows over, then you're stuck with me."

"Um, sorry for butting into your conversation like this..." Pearl politely interjected, a thoughtful expression on her face. "But why would you want to hide her? Isn't she yours?"

"Ah, that's a funny thing actually..." Toru said with a chuckle. "Ya see, the fact is that I'm just watching over her. I thought it would be enough just to run her a little ways into Sinnoh and let her pick a spot for us to part ways, but it's not looking like that now..."

"I see... well, can I make a suggestion then?"

"Sure, I don't see why not."

"Have you heard of Solaceon Town?"

"Solaceon Town... um..." Toru crossed his arms and shut his eyes, bowing his head in a thoughtful manner as the fingers of his right hand drummed against his left arm. "No, can't say it really rings a bell."

"Well, that's to be expected I suppose." Pearl then rose from her seat, walking around beside Toru and pressing a button on her Poketch a number of times before stopping beside him, leaning over and holding her arm out in front of him, pointing to a small, blue horizontal block by a larger red one in the center of the map. "It's right here, northeast of Pastoria City. It's a small little town with a day care and a huge stretch of natural grasslands to the north. It should be the perfect place for her to be set out on her own. I don't think anyone would expect someone to purposely hide anything in a small town like that, in contrast to bigger ones nearby like Veilstone City."

"_It sounds like a good idea."_ Kirlia said as she looked over the Poketch from the other side, now standing on the table in front of Toru. _"But it's way off from here..."_

"Well it's not that bad." Toru stated reassuringly, putting his fingertip on the screen over Twinleaf Town's location and tracing it along the bottom route. "We just head to Sandgem Town, on to Oreburgh City, into Hearthome after passing through Mount Coronet and we're there."

"There's a problem with your plan though..." Pearl stated, pointing to Oreburgh City's mark on the map. "There's a large slope there, so even though they look connected on this little map, they're really not..."

"Oh, come on, how bad can it be?"

"It's a huge dirt wall with no way to climb up it or grab any solid foot holds, and the only way up is a little path of dirt at a slightly more accessible angle that you can only get to with a bike set for high speed."

"Okay, where's the bike shop?"

"In Eterna City, all the way up here." She said, pointing near the top of the map.

"... Someone did that on purpose to have an excuse to laugh at trainers like me, I know it." Toru said somewhat bitterly, an irritated grin coming over his face. "That placement is too freakin' perfect not to be on purpose."

"Yeah, I know the feeling." Pearl said with an awkward chuckle of her own before turning her attention back to the map, pointing to Mount Coronet right next to Eterna City. "Of course, if you've got a Pokemon or two that know Strength, Rock Smash and Defog, you can cut through the northern part of Mount Coronet, through Celestic Town, and take Route 210 down to Solaceon Town."

"Wait, Defog?" Toru asked, clearly perplexed by why a move like that would be necessary. "I can pretty much gather what it does from name alone, but, why would we need it for just a little fog?"

"This isn't just 'a little' fog, Toru." Pearl said, tracing a line with her finger from where Route 210 began to where it forked off with Route 215. "From roughly here to here, it's a huge fog bank most of the time. It's so thick that it's really easy to get lost or hurt since you can barely make out your hand in front of your own face. Defog can clear it for a little while though, but you need a Flying-type to use it."

"That's cool. I was planning on getting one anyways. What are the local types?"

"Well, the most common ones around the region are Starly and its evolutions."

"Starly, huh...?" Toru muttered to himself as he dipped his hand into his pocket for his Pokedex, blinking as he felt a few small shards of hard plastic around it. "... no, my luck can **not** be that bad..." He frowned slightly, pulling his Pokedex out of his pocket and looking at the back of it, his slight frown turning into a full blown grimace at the sight before him. The top screen had been smashed in, looking to be a dull puncture of some kind. "You've gotta be kidding me! I just got this thing the other day!"

Pearl couldn't help but grimace as well at the sight, placing her hand down on the table as she looked over it. "It looks really bad... does it still work?"

Toru flipped it open, waiting for several seconds as he looked to upon a black screen before sighing and hanging his head. "No, it's totally trashed... I don't get it, how did this happen?!"

"_Maybe it happened when you got knocked over."_ Kirlia stated, drawing a sullen gaze from Toru. _"That Sandslash's arms practically exploded from the ground when it grabbed you, so, maybe you fell on a rock it knocked out or something like that."_

"Could be, since I was so wrapped up in the moment there... Man..." Toru said with a sigh, setting the Pokedex on the table and clutching his head in either hand. "Now I've gotta get a replacement..."

"Can I make another suggestion then?" Pearl asked, watching Toru nod before she returned to her seat. "Professor Rowan lives in Sandgem Town northeast of here, it's just the next one over. Maybe you can stop by his lab and he'd help you out?"

"Well, at this point, I haven't really got anything to lose."

* * *

A few hours later, after Flare had gotten a sufficient amount of rest in Pearl's room, the two trainers and two Pokemon found themselves standing at the northern edge of Twinleaf Town, staring down Route 201 as Pearl laid out their path for them.

"Just follow Route 201 along the path; you should be able to get to Sandgem Town by tomorrow." Pearl instructed. "Be careful about those two from earlier though. If you run into them again, I won't be able to teleport you out."

"Yeah, I know." Toru replied, his tone and expression both serious. "Hopefully by the time we butt heads again, I'll have a full team to fight them off with." His eyes turned to Pearl, his looks softening into a smile as he turned to face her. "Thanks tons for everything, we really owe you one."

"Don't worry about it. Just make sure that you don't get into a situation where you're cornered like that again." Pearl then glanced back in the direction of her house, allowing one hand to rest on her hip. "I've got to get going myself, come to think of it. I have some things to take care of."

"Huh, anything I could lend a hand with?"

"Not really, it's Pokemon League business." She sighed, shrugging as she began to walk back, glancing over her shoulder and waving a hand. "Watch out for yourself, you guys!"

"Will do, thanks again!" Toru replied gratefully, followed by a yip from Flare on his shoulder. The young man then glanced down to Kirlia, standing at his left side silently, watching Pearl walk back into town. "You alright?"

"_I don't get people like you..."_ Kirlia said with a sigh, turning and starting up the route. _"You always seem to butt into dangerous business that has nothing to do with you, putting yourselves at risk even for the sake total strangers."_

"What's wrong with that?" he inquired as he followed after Kirlia, dipping his hands into his pockets.

"_Nothing if they want the help, I guess... But when it gets to things like this, where your lives are in danger, why do you keep going?"_

"Hm... well..." Toru thought, pondering to himself in silence for a moment as they walked along. "I guess it just comes down to the fact that I said that I would. After all, in your case, I kinda promised myself I'd finish what I started."

"_That's it? Just a promise to yourself?"_

"Yep. After all, if you can't keep a promise to yourself, who can ya keep it to?" The young man bent over, keeping one hand on Flare's back to keep the Fox Pokemon from falling off his shoulder as he placed his hands on Kirlia's head, ruffling her hair playfully. "So quit worrying about it, you're stuck with me until we get you out of the enemy's sight, alright?"

Kirlia huffed as she watched Toru straighten his posture, reaching up and straightening out her hair. She walked in silence beside him for a moment before putting on a cocky smile.

* * *

"So the both of you failed your mission?" The voice of an older man spoke over a cell phone.

"Yes sir." Roy responded solemnly, his back leaned up against a tree, his eyes shut and an uncomfortable expression on his face. "Someone interfered with a Sandstorm attack and teleported away with our targets before we could capture them."

"Do you have any idea who it might be?"

"I'm afraid not, sir. It seemed like a young girl with a Psychic-type, but that's not enough for us to go on."

The man groaned slightly, falling silent for a moment before speaking up with a much more authoritative tone. "Very well. I want you two to pursue them. Follow any leads you may find. I don't need to stress to you the fact that it is vital that we have Kirlia returned to us. The final stages of our plans cannot proceed without it."

"I'm guessing a replacement isn't an option, is it...?" Roy questioned tiredly, opening his eyes and glancing out the corner of them to Kaia, currently sitting cross legged on the grass, watching over her Sandslash and paying close mind to its recently bandaged arm with an upset expression.

"You know the answer to that. There's too much time and energy invested into that Kirlia, it's the only one who's been able to perform its duties successfully. We are working on alternative options to reach our goals at the moment, but for now it is absolutely vital we have it returned to us. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir." Roy said with a sigh. "We'll get right on it." He then flipped closed his phone, sliding down against the tree and settling on the ground. "We're going hunting for that kid."

"Fine by me." Kaia responded bitterly, reaching out and laying a hand beside the Sandslash's bandages. "For doing this to my Pokemon... I'm gonna kill him myself."

"I understand you're angry, but don't let it cloud your judgment." Roy stated plainly, watching his Bagon leap out of the tree he was sitting under, only to crash down on it's head on the ground, quickly scrambling to it's feet afterwards and running back to the tree as Roy outstretched his arm, watching his small Pokemon leap up onto it as he flung it up, throwing the Pokemon into the tree. "Besides, that kid was doing it to protect his own Pokemon. He's got good survival instincts, doing what it takes."

"Like someone else I know." She remarked, putting on a smirk in his direction that merely caused him to chuckle and shrug. She sighed, lying back on the grass, her upper body now resting beside where he sat. "We'll get them next time."

"Yeah, if one of the others doesn't get to him first."

"Hmph, don't give them so much credit." The blonde responded almost indignantly. "They're just idiots who don't know what the Hell they're doing; they won't be a problem for anyone."

"If I didn't know any better..." Roy said with a smirk, reaching down and pulling her bangs out from behind her ear with his index finger, flipping them over her eyes. "I'd say you had a high opinion of that kid's skills."

"Maybe..." she trailed off, glancing out the corner of her eyes to her Sandslash, watching it lie flat on it's stomach and shut its eyes in an attempt to sleep. "We'll just have to see what he has to offer from the reports the others submit."

"Yeah..." he said, glancing up and watching his Bagon fighting its way through the thick tree branches overhead, attempting to scale its way to the very top of the tree. "We'll see just how far he can go."

* * *

Well, seeing as I have a healthy interest in this story in contrast to Distant Shadows ( Which I still need to finish... ), I should be updating more regularly now. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, number 3'll be up shortly. Until then, take care everyone. 


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